Here are some local attractions.
Mountain Winery www.mountainwinery.com
Santana Row www.santanarow.com
Lick Observatory http://mthamilton.ucolick.org
Hiller Aviation Museum www.hiller.org
Tech Museum www.thetech.org
San Jose Museum of Art www.sjmusart.org
J. Lohr Vineyards Tasting Room www.jlohr.com
Wine Tours www.lighthouse-tours.com/localwinetours.html
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Ten Motels for a Budget-Friendly Wine Country tour in Northern California
Take a Wine Country Tour pre/post AMTC on a budget.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
San Francisco Walking Tours
San Francisco is one hour away from San Jose, CA. Before/after the Air Medical Transport Conference consider a walking tour!
http://www.sfcityguides.org/index.html
http://www.sfcityguides.org/index.html
San Jose bike festival kicks off Amgen Tour of California weekend
The VELOVE Winter Bicycle Festival is about to transform downtown Santa Rosa into a bicycle wonderland during Valentines Day weekend, February 14-15. Held in conjunction with the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, VELOVE is packed with events for everyone, including bike competitions, race viewing parties, non-profit fundraising events, a pro race team signing and plenty more. It is a joint production between Bike Monkey, the City of Santa Rosa, Mainstreet and West Coast GoldSprints. To learn more and register for events, visit http://www.velovefestival.com/ .
Saturday, February 14
Cyclocross Championship: 11am-5pm – Cyclists of all ages and levels are invited to compete in a friendly cyclocross competition featuring food, drinks and live music by the Hubbub Club Marching Band.
Prologue Watch Party: 5-7pm – Watch the 2009 Amgen Tour of California prologue on the bigscreen at the Sweet Spot Pub, the official afterparty for the cyclocross championship.
Party with Paul Sherwen: 6-9pm – Support Bicycles for Humanity-Santa Rosa by visiting the Cellars of Sonomo in Railroad Square for an evening of wine tasting, hors d'oeuvres and a live auction with legendary cyclist and infamous Tour de France commentator, Paul Sherwen. Proceeds will help send our first shipment of bicycles from Santa Rosa to healthcare workers in Namibia, Africa. Tickets available online at http://www.velovefestival.com/ only 100 spaces so don't wait!
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Celebration: 6:30pm – Watch the Tour of California prologue and party with the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition at the Hunter Global Legacy Center. A suggested donation of $5-10 includes a night of music, New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Amber Ale, wine, hors d'oeuvres, a scavenger hunt, indoor cycling contests, prizes, dancing and great people.
Sunday, February 15
West Coast Gold Sprints: 12pm-7pm – Local teams will face off in stationary bike races at the Historic Railroad Square as the Tour of California stage finish is shown in the beer garden. After 4pm, bike races open to riders of all abilities.
Team Rabobank at the Sonoma Bicycle Company: Shortly after the Stage 1 finish – Visit the Sonoma Bicycle Company at their new 4th street location immediately after the Tour of California finish to meet and greet the riders of Team Rabobank. Free valet bike parking is available.
Saturday, February 14
Cyclocross Championship: 11am-5pm – Cyclists of all ages and levels are invited to compete in a friendly cyclocross competition featuring food, drinks and live music by the Hubbub Club Marching Band.
Prologue Watch Party: 5-7pm – Watch the 2009 Amgen Tour of California prologue on the bigscreen at the Sweet Spot Pub, the official afterparty for the cyclocross championship.
Party with Paul Sherwen: 6-9pm – Support Bicycles for Humanity-Santa Rosa by visiting the Cellars of Sonomo in Railroad Square for an evening of wine tasting, hors d'oeuvres and a live auction with legendary cyclist and infamous Tour de France commentator, Paul Sherwen. Proceeds will help send our first shipment of bicycles from Santa Rosa to healthcare workers in Namibia, Africa. Tickets available online at http://www.velovefestival.com/ only 100 spaces so don't wait!
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Celebration: 6:30pm – Watch the Tour of California prologue and party with the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition at the Hunter Global Legacy Center. A suggested donation of $5-10 includes a night of music, New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Amber Ale, wine, hors d'oeuvres, a scavenger hunt, indoor cycling contests, prizes, dancing and great people.
Sunday, February 15
West Coast Gold Sprints: 12pm-7pm – Local teams will face off in stationary bike races at the Historic Railroad Square as the Tour of California stage finish is shown in the beer garden. After 4pm, bike races open to riders of all abilities.
Team Rabobank at the Sonoma Bicycle Company: Shortly after the Stage 1 finish – Visit the Sonoma Bicycle Company at their new 4th street location immediately after the Tour of California finish to meet and greet the riders of Team Rabobank. Free valet bike parking is available.
Diridon Station to Be Focus of Harvard Design Group
The City of San Jose has entered into an agreement with the Harvard University Graduate School of Design for an Urban Design Studio Project to begin identifying possibilities for the future of San Jose's Diridon Station and its adjacent surroundings.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29128414/from/ET/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29128414/from/ET/
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
San Jose, California
From its official designation as California's first capital in 1849 to today's informal title as the "Capital of Silicon Valley" San Jose has always played a starring role in the state's history.
Originally founded by Spanish pioneers back in 1777 as El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe, two centuries later California's first civilian settelment has grown into America's 10th largest city and Northern California's biggest-surpassing even San Francisco, that "other city" just an hour to the north.
Passengers who happen to glance out the windo as they land at San Jose International Airport may notice that the city's growth has been more horizontal than vertical, as it lacks the usual big-city downtwon cluster of glittering steel skyscrapers. In fact a stroll downtown almost feels more suburban than urban. But don't let that deceive you; all the elements you'd expect from a big city are here: ethnic diversity, world-class performing arts and museums, cutting-edge art exhibits, national pro sports teams, a trhiving dining scene, pulsing nightlife, and, yes, headache-worthy rush-hour traffic.
Originally founded by Spanish pioneers back in 1777 as El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe, two centuries later California's first civilian settelment has grown into America's 10th largest city and Northern California's biggest-surpassing even San Francisco, that "other city" just an hour to the north.
Passengers who happen to glance out the windo as they land at San Jose International Airport may notice that the city's growth has been more horizontal than vertical, as it lacks the usual big-city downtwon cluster of glittering steel skyscrapers. In fact a stroll downtown almost feels more suburban than urban. But don't let that deceive you; all the elements you'd expect from a big city are here: ethnic diversity, world-class performing arts and museums, cutting-edge art exhibits, national pro sports teams, a trhiving dining scene, pulsing nightlife, and, yes, headache-worthy rush-hour traffic.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Tour of California: Hincapie relegated to shadows amidst 2009 tour's drama
By Elliott Almond - San Jose Mercury News
Posted: 02/07/2009
Cycling's most loyal teammate understands why he won't generate much pre-race buzz at this year's Amgen Tour of California.
"I just haven't gone away, I haven't had any scandals and nobody hates me," George Hincapie says.
That's not the case for three of his friends who will bring more than enough drama to the nine-stage tour that starts Feb. 14 in Sacramento. With cycling icon Lance Armstrong joining Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton in a return to the scene, there's hardly room to focus on anyone else. The cancer-surviving Armstrong is the sport's biggest draw. Landis and Hamilton are returning after serving drug suspensions in highly publicized cases.
And the unassuming domestique who helped Armstrong win a record seven consecutive titles at the Tour de France?
Hincapie, 35, will probably blend into the background while the big names cast long and sometimes dark shadows. It has been that way most of his 16-year career, even as he "created history together" with Armstrong.
"George maybe gets overlooked in the press but he is definitely respected in the peloton for the work that he does," said Bobby Julich, a former pro rider who has known Hincapie since they were 12. "He doesn't have to be that guy who stands out. But he sacrifices for other guys."
Hincapie also has buffered himself from drug suspicions that have dogged some of cycling's marquee athletes by never publicly testing positive and parsing his words when scandals exploded among friends and former teammates.
"I am very loyal," said Hincapie, who will pedal in the Breakaway From Cancer charity ride Sunday in San Francisco. "That is part of the reason many teams want me."
Hincapie, who rides for Team Columbia High Road, is one of Armstrong's closest friends and he has firmly defended the champion against drug suspicions that have never been proven. He also is close with Landis and Hamilton, and like many who followed their cases still isn't sure what to make of it.
"I don't know if they got caught or not," said Hincapie, a New Yorker who has settled in Greenville, S.C. "Somebody was right and somebody was wrong. I don't know who to believe. They definitely went through a hard period. They had two years taken away from their lives. I'm happy they are back."
But in the end, their presence makes the 750-mile tour that stops in San Jose on Feb. 17 that much more challenging.
"Nobody can deny they are extremely talented cyclists," said Hincapie, who finished fourth in the initial tour in 2006. "I've heard Floyd is motivated."
So is Hincapie, who has been part of teams that won eight consecutive titles at the Tour de France, finished second at the famous one-day classic Paris-Roubaix and is a five-time Olympian.
With probably only two more years of racing ahead, Hincapie wants to win a second stage at the Tour de France, win the Tour of Flanders and finally finish first at Paris-Roubaix.
But a repeat of 2005 wouldn't be bad. The 6-foot-3, 165-pound cyclist scored the highest finish of any American at Paris-Roubaix second and also won a Tour de France mountain stage.
In the Pyrenees, Hincapie was part of a breakaway that gained 18 minutes on the main group of Tour riders.
"It was a chance of a lifetime," Hincapie recalled. "I just didn't want to screw it up. I tried to stay calm. If you get excited too early you could definitely blow up."
Hincapie won by seven seconds, the consummate teammate crossing the line first.
Posted: 02/07/2009
Cycling's most loyal teammate understands why he won't generate much pre-race buzz at this year's Amgen Tour of California.
"I just haven't gone away, I haven't had any scandals and nobody hates me," George Hincapie says.
That's not the case for three of his friends who will bring more than enough drama to the nine-stage tour that starts Feb. 14 in Sacramento. With cycling icon Lance Armstrong joining Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton in a return to the scene, there's hardly room to focus on anyone else. The cancer-surviving Armstrong is the sport's biggest draw. Landis and Hamilton are returning after serving drug suspensions in highly publicized cases.
And the unassuming domestique who helped Armstrong win a record seven consecutive titles at the Tour de France?
Hincapie, 35, will probably blend into the background while the big names cast long and sometimes dark shadows. It has been that way most of his 16-year career, even as he "created history together" with Armstrong.
"George maybe gets overlooked in the press but he is definitely respected in the peloton for the work that he does," said Bobby Julich, a former pro rider who has known Hincapie since they were 12. "He doesn't have to be that guy who stands out. But he sacrifices for other guys."
Hincapie also has buffered himself from drug suspicions that have dogged some of cycling's marquee athletes by never publicly testing positive and parsing his words when scandals exploded among friends and former teammates.
"I am very loyal," said Hincapie, who will pedal in the Breakaway From Cancer charity ride Sunday in San Francisco. "That is part of the reason many teams want me."
Hincapie, who rides for Team Columbia High Road, is one of Armstrong's closest friends and he has firmly defended the champion against drug suspicions that have never been proven. He also is close with Landis and Hamilton, and like many who followed their cases still isn't sure what to make of it.
"I don't know if they got caught or not," said Hincapie, a New Yorker who has settled in Greenville, S.C. "Somebody was right and somebody was wrong. I don't know who to believe. They definitely went through a hard period. They had two years taken away from their lives. I'm happy they are back."
But in the end, their presence makes the 750-mile tour that stops in San Jose on Feb. 17 that much more challenging.
"Nobody can deny they are extremely talented cyclists," said Hincapie, who finished fourth in the initial tour in 2006. "I've heard Floyd is motivated."
So is Hincapie, who has been part of teams that won eight consecutive titles at the Tour de France, finished second at the famous one-day classic Paris-Roubaix and is a five-time Olympian.
With probably only two more years of racing ahead, Hincapie wants to win a second stage at the Tour de France, win the Tour of Flanders and finally finish first at Paris-Roubaix.
But a repeat of 2005 wouldn't be bad. The 6-foot-3, 165-pound cyclist scored the highest finish of any American at Paris-Roubaix second and also won a Tour de France mountain stage.
In the Pyrenees, Hincapie was part of a breakaway that gained 18 minutes on the main group of Tour riders.
"It was a chance of a lifetime," Hincapie recalled. "I just didn't want to screw it up. I tried to stay calm. If you get excited too early you could definitely blow up."
Hincapie won by seven seconds, the consummate teammate crossing the line first.
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